MLB Player News

Alvarez went 1-for-5 with a three-run home run in Sunday's 11-10 loss to the Rockies.

Alvarez was moved up to the two hole in the batting order for the first time Sunday, and he put an exclamation point on the Mets' six-run fourth inning. The homer was his fifth during his eight-game hitting streak, a span in which he's added 13 RBI while batting .400 (12-for-30). The young slugger is up to eight homers, 19 RBI, 14 runs scored and a .269/.327/.558 slash line through 33 contests this season.

Diaz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mets, Patrick Lyons of TheDNVR.com reports.

Diaz has been excellent throughout the 2023 campaign, but he'll get a day of rest for the series finale. Austin Wynns is hitting ninth and starting behind the dish with Austin Gomber on the mound for the Rockies.

Alvarez will start at catcher and bat second in Sunday's game against the Rockies.

Alvarez has hit near the bottom of the order for the majority of the season, but he'll climb into the two hole while the Mets face lefty Austin Gomber on Sunday. The 21-year-old backstop has swung the bat well as of late and is coming off a two-hit performance Saturday in which he slugged a three-run home run in the Mets' 10- 7 loss. If Alvarez continues to swing a hot stick, it's possible he'll earn more opportunities to hit near the top of the lineup versus right-handers too.

Sabol will start at catcher and bat sixth in Sunday's game against the Brewers, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Sabol will step in behind the dish in place of Patrick Bailey, who is resting for the series finale after catching in each of the past three contests. Even though Bailey looks poised to remain the Giants' primary backstop while Joey Bart (groin) is on the shelf, Sabol's ability to fill in at designated hitter or in the corner outfield has allowed him to retain a regular role. The rookie will draw a seventh consecutive start Sunday despite going 2-for-21 with seven strikeouts over the previous six contests.

Bailey is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Brewers, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Bailey will get a day of rest after starting the first three games of the series against Milwaukee. Blake Sabol will handle catching duties Sunday while Bailey sits.

Sullivan is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Yankees.

Though he'll take a seat in the series finale, Sullivan appears to have at least moved into a timeshare at catcher with Austin Nola, who is behind the dish Sunday. Sullivan owns a putrid .495 OPS on the season, but that's still more than 60 points better than the mark Nola has provided (.443) over 69 more plate appearances.

Ruiz is out of the lineup Sunday versus the Royals.

Ruiz will retreat to the bench after going 1-for-8 with an RBI and a run scored over the first two games of the series with Kansas City. Riley Adams will get the start behind the plate and hit ninth Sunday while Ruiz rests.

Contreras is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians.

Contreras has struggled mightily at the plate as of late, as he hasn't picked up a hit since May 20. He'll get a chance to rest against Cleveland on Sunday with Andrew Knizner handling catching duties and hitting ninth.

Murphy went 2-for-4 with a double and a solo home run in Saturday's 2-1 loss to the Phillies.

He spoiled Philly's shutout bid in the ninth inning by taking Craig Kimbrel deep. Murphy extended his hit streak to eight games in the process, a stretch in which the backstop is batting .323 (10-for-31) with two of his 11 homers on the season.

Smith is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rays.

With Sunday's game beginning at 11:35 a.m. ET, Smith will get a well-deserved breather after he had started behind the plate in each of the Dodgers' last six games. Austin Barnes will step in at catcher, forming a battery with starting pitcher Gavin Stone.